Fears for thousands of Afghans after landslide hits north east of country

Rescuers and locals continue search for missing persons

Afghans search for survivors after a massive landslide landslide buried a village Friday, May 2, 2014 in Badakhshan province, northeastern Afghanistan, which Afghan and U.N. officials say left hundreds of dead and missing missing.(AP Photo/Ahmad Zubair)

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At least 350 people have died and as many as 2,000 are missing in Afghanistan after a landslide hit.

Rescuers and hundreds of residents from nearby areas are trying to help people in a small village in northeastern Afghanistan hit by a massive landslide, officials say.

Abdullah Homayun Dehqan the director of Badakshan province’s National Disaster Department says hundreds of local people have gathered near where the landslide hit on Friday, armed with shovels.

But he said there are fears that another landslide might strike.

He said he did not have an exact figure on how many people were killed. The United Nations on Friday said at least 350 people were killed while the provincial governor said as many as 2,000 people were feared missing.

Rescuers have struggled to reach the remote area in northeastern Afghanistan. Heavy rains earlier this week contributed to the landslide.